Methods and system for controlling the use of firearms

ABSTRACT

According to certain aspects, a system for controlling use of firearms can include a circuitry coupled to a firearm and in communication with a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit. The circuitry may be configured to: determine, using the GPS unit, coordinates of a current location of the firearm; transmit the coordinates of the current location of the firearm to a remote server, wherein the remote server comprises a database including a plurality of coordinates associated with a plurality of locations at which the firearm should be enabled or disabled; receive from the remote server information relating to whether the firearm should be disabled at the coordinates of the current location of the firearm; and in response to determining that the firearm should be disabled based on the information from the remote server, initiate disabling of the firearm.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

Any and all applications for which a foreign or domestic priority claimis identified in the Application Data Sheet, or any correction thereto,are hereby incorporated by reference into this application under 37 CFR1.57.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to methods and system for controlling the use offirearms.

SUMMARY

According to some embodiments, a system for controlling use of firearmscomprises: location circuitry configured to determine a location of afirearm; and communications circuitry configured to: communicateinformation relating to the location of the firearm to a remote server,wherein the remote server comprises information relating to one or morelocations at which the firearm should be disabled; determine whether thelocation of the firearm is a location at which the firearm should bedisabled; and in response to determining that the location of thefirearm is a location at which the firearm should be disabled, disablethe firearm from operating.

According to certain embodiments, a method of controlling use offirearms comprises: determining a location of a firearm using locationcircuitry; communicating information relating to the location of thefirearm to a remote server, using communications circuitry, wherein theremote server comprises information relating to one or more locations atwhich the firearm should be disabled; determining, using thecommunications circuitry, whether the location of the firearm is alocation at which the firearm should be disabled; and in response todetermining that the location of the firearm is a location at which thefirearm should be disabled, disabling the firearm from operating.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for controlling the use of firearms based onlocation of a firearm.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate different embodiments of a firearm thatincludes a system for controlling the use of firearms.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a routine for controlling the use of afirearm, according to certain embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates a diagram of an electronic fence for controlling theuse of a firearm, according to certain embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The disclosure provided in the following pages describes examples ofsome embodiments of the invention. The designs, figures, and descriptionare non-limiting examples of some embodiments of the invention. Otherembodiments of the system may or may not include the features disclosedherein. Moreover, disclosed advantages and benefits may apply to onlysome embodiments of the invention, and should not be used to limit thescope of the invention.

Many gun-related deaths occur because of non-owner use of the gunsincluding use of stolen weapons and improper or accidental use by familymembers. For example, firearms in homes are significantly more likely tokill a family member than an intruder. Furthermore, many handguns andhunting rifles are often left unlocked in homes. Thus there is clearly aneed for firearms which can only be armed for use by authorized users.

Several attempts have been made over the years to provide weapons whichcan be disarmed, such that they cannot function in the hands ofunauthorized users, by the addition of locking/keying technology, butthese have generally not proved successful. Firearms with such systemsare typically more heavy and bulky, less reliable, and more expensive.Furthermore, the inconvenience of arming and disarming such guns tendsto discourage regular use of the disarming system.

In one embodiment of the invention, a firearm comprises at least one orthe following two forms of electronic identification: 1) locationcircuitry that determines the location of the firearm, and 2)communications circuitry that communicates location information and anyother preselected information associated with the firearm with one ormore remote servers.

In other embodiments, both forms of electronic identification are used.As a result, in one embodiment, the invention has two redundant systems,that can be used separately, or in combination, to control the operationof the firearm.

The Location Circuitry

The location circuitry and/or the communications circuitry, in oneembodiment, communicate with the arming or trigger operation of thefirearm and have the ability to disable the same. In another embodiment,the location circuitry and/or communication circuitry communicate withthe loading mechanism or magazine of a firearm and have the ability todisable the same.

Based on preselected conditions, the firearm can be disabled remotely asit gets close to preselected locations including public places such asmalls, schools etc. The firearm can also be disabled remotely if lost orstolen or for any other reason.

In one embodiment, the location circuitry comprises a Global PositioningSystem (GPS) unit with internal memory. The internal memory identifieslocations where the firearm may be used, or alternatively where thefirearm may not be used. Accordingly, the location circuitry can be usedto create an electronic fence around particular locations such as publiclocations or areas where hunting and shooting should not occur.

In other embodiments, location information is obtained by triangulationfrom multiple cell towers or Wi-Fi routers. This approach may be usedseparately, or combined with the GPS data. In other embodiments, thelocation of the mobile device is determined by local wireless networkssuch as radio frequency identification detectors, Bluetooth emitters,proximity detectors, infrared detectors, movement detectors, and thelike.

The Communications Circuitry

Focusing now on the communications circuitry, with the communicationcircuitry, the location of the firearm can be monitored remotely with aremote server. The remote server comprises memory that identifieslocations where the firearm may be used, or alternatively where thefirearm may not be used. Accordingly, the communication circuitry canalso be used to create an electronic fence that disables the firearmand/or sends alarming or other data signals to police or otherpreselected responders around particular locations such as publiclocations or areas where hunting and shooting should not occur.

Furthermore, the remote server can be quickly updated to address newsituations and thus, disable the firearm as desired. For example, theremote server can disable the firearm in the event the firearm isreported as lost or stolen.

In yet another embodiment, the communications circuitry can notify theremote server when the firearm has moved outside a desired area.Alternatively, the remote server can obtain the location of the firearmfrom the communications circuitry and determine when the firearm hasmoved outside a desired area. In response, the remote server and/or thecommunications circuitry disable the use of the firearm and send anotification to the proper authorities regarding the location of thefirearm.

For example, assume that a firearm used at a training facility, is movedoutside the training facility area. In response, the communicationscircuitry and/or remote server can disable the firearm and/or generate anotification to the training facility personnel, or other authorities,that the firearm has been removed from the training facility area. Inparticular, in one version, the system defines a distance boundaryaround the training facility. When the firearm is taken beyond thedistance boundary, the communications circuitry and/or remote server candisable the firearm and/or generate the notification.

In another example, assume that a firearm located at a home is takenoutside the home without authorization. In response, the communicationscircuitry and/or remote server disable the firearm and notify the owner,or other authorities, that the firearm has been removed from the home.

In still another embodiment, the communications circuitry cancommunicate with the remote server when the firearm has entered into anundesired area. Alternatively, the remote server can obtain the locationof the firearm from the communications circuitry and determine when thefirearm has moved within the undesired area. In response, the firearm isdisabled and/or the owner, authorized user, or other authorities, arenotified about the location of the firearm.

For example, assume that a firearm has been taken to a public location.In response, the communications circuitry and/or remote server disablethe firearm and/or notify the owner, or other authorities, that thefirearm is located at the public location. In one version, the systemdefines an outside perimeter around the public location, when thefirearm crosses the outside perimeter, the communications circuitryand/or remote server disable the firearm and/or notify the owner, orother authorities, that the firearm is located near the public location

Biometric Identification System

Moreover, each firearm can have a biometric identification system suchas a fingerprint identifier, palm-print identifier, retinalidentification, or the like. The biometric identification system isconnected to the trigger or loading mechanism of the firearm and willdisable it unless its registered owner or authorized registered user isidentified prior to each use or at any pre-selected intervals such astime intervals or number of shots.

Bluetooth Pairing

In yet another embodiment, the firearm is paired with a Bluetooth orsimilar device associated with the firearm's registered owner or user,including a chip implanted in the body of the authorized user of thefirearm. Such pairing can control the firearm according to pre-selectedconditions. For example, when the firearm loses contact with the pairedBluetooth emitter, the firearm is disabled. For example, if the signalstrength of the Bluetooth emitter drops below a desired threshold, thefirearm is disabled.

In another embodiment, remotely located emitters, send a coded messageto the communications circuitry on the firearm, that when received bythe firearm, controls the use of the firearm. For example, in instancesremote emitters can be placed in public locations that disable the useof the firearm by transmitting a message to the communications circuitryin the firearm.

Ammunitions

In yet another embodiment, the above-described concepts including theBluetooth pairing, location circuitry and/or communications circuitrycan be embedded within the ammunitions of a firearm to disable thetriggering of the ammunitions. For example, the location circuitryand/or communications circuitry can be embedded within the chamber of abullet to inhibit or enable the use of the bullet.

Exemplary System for Implementing Firearm Control

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 for controlling the use of firearmsbased on location of a firearm. As explained above, the system 100 canbe a part of a firearm. The system 100 may include location circuitry110 and/or communications circuitry 120. Depending on the embodiment,the location circuitry 110 and the communications circuitry 120 may bethe same, or may be a part of the same circuit. For example, a circuitcan perform the functions of both the location circuitry 110 and thecommunications circuitry 120. Depending on the embodiment, the system100 may include additional, fewer, and/or different components.

The location circuitry 110 can be configured to determine the locationof the firearm associated with the system 100. For example, the locationcircuitry 110 can detect the location of the firearm using GlobalPositioning System (GPS) technology, Local Positioning System (LPS)technology, cellular technology, Wi-Fi technology, etc. In someembodiments, the location circuitry 110 includes a GPS unit 130. The GPSunit 130 can detect the location of the firearm. The location caninclude geographic coordinates (e.g., latitude, longitude, elevation,etc.). The GPS unit 130 may include memory 135. The memory 135 may storeinformation relating to locations or areas where the firearm is allowedto operate and/or not allowed to operate.

The communications circuitry 120 can be configured to communicatelocation information and other information associated with a firearm.The system 100 may communicate with one or more remote servers 150. Forexample, the system 100 may communicate the location information andother information associated with a firearm to a remote server 150. Theremote server 150 may be configured to communicate with the system 100of a firearm. The remote server 150 can receive location informationfrom the system 100 and determine whether the firearm associated withthe system 100 is in an unauthorized location or area. The remote server150 can also determine whether the firearm is in an authorized locationor area.

The remote server 150 can include a location database 155. The locationdatabase 155 can include information relating to locations wherefirearms are not authorized and/or locations where firearms areauthorized. For instance, use of firearms may be prohibited nearschools, public buildings, airports, government buildings, etc. In somecases, use of firearms may be allowed in a specific location or area,such as a shooting range. The information in the location database 155may be updated as appropriate (e.g., periodically). The location may bedefined as a geographical area. In one embodiment, the geographical areais defined as a perimeter or a radius around a specific building(s). Thegeographical area may be defined by one or more geographic coordinates.

The remote server 150 may determine whether to disable a particularfirearm based on the location information of the firearm. For example,the remote server 150 can compare the location transmitted by the system100 to the location information in the location database 155 todetermine if the location is an unauthorized location or within anunauthorized area. If the location is an unauthorized location or area,such as a school, the remote server 150 can generate a command todisable the firearm associated with the system 100. Upon receiving thedisable command from the remote server 150, the system 100 can disablethe firearm from operating. For example, the communications circuitry120 can receive the disable command and trigger the disabling of thefirearm.

In some embodiments, the system 100 may receive unauthorized and/orauthorized location information from the remote server 150 and store theinformation. For example, the memory 135 of the GPS unit 130 can storethe location information received from the remote server 150. The system100 may determine whether the location of the firearm detected by theGPS unit 130 is within any unauthorized and/or authorized location orarea as defined by the location information stored in the memory 135. Inone embodiment, the system 100 may store location information relatingto a surrounding area of the current location of the firearm. The system100 can receive updated location information from the remote server 150(e.g., periodically).

Various mechanisms and/or methods may be used to disable the firearm.For example, the firearm can be disabled by disabling the hammer and/orthe rebound slider of the firearm. In some embodiments, firearmdisabling mechanism as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,689, filed Mar.15, 2002, entitled “GUN DISABLING MECHANISM,” which is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety, can be used to disable the firearm.The communications circuitry 120 can be configured to actuate thedisabling of the firearm, or may trigger another component in the system100 to disable the firearm. In one example, a component that canmechanically disable the firearm may be connected to the communicationscircuitry 120, and the communications circuitry 120 can control thecomponent based on the determination of whether to disable the firearmor not.

In addition to or prior to disabling the firearm, the system 100 maysend a notification to one or more relevant persons or organizations.For example, the system 100 can send a notification that the firearm isin an unauthorized area to the owner of the firearm and/or to lawenforcement agencies.

FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate different embodiments of a firearm 250 thatincludes a system 200 for controlling the use of firearms. FIG. 2Aillustrates an embodiment of a firearm 250 a in which the system 200 forcontrolling the use of the firearm 250 a is included within the firearm250 a. FIG. 2B illustrates another embodiment of a firearm 250 b inwhich the system 200 for controlling the use of the firearm 250 b isoutside the firearm 250 b. The system 200 in FIGS. 2A and 2B can besimilar to the system 100 in FIG. 1.

In the example of FIG. 2A, the system 200 is included or embedded withinthe firearm 250 a. For example, the system 200 is included as acomponent of the firearm 250 a at the time of manufacture. In theexample of FIG. 2B, the system 200 can be installed onto or into afirearm 250 b. For example, the system 200 can be installed on a firearmthat does not have an internal system 200, such that firearmsmanufactured without a system 200 can also be tracked and disabled asappropriate. The system 200 can be securely installed so that it cannotbe removed by the person using the firearm 250 b.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a routine 300 for controlling the useof a firearm, according to certain embodiments. The routine 300 isdescribed with respect to the system 100 of FIG. 1. However, one or moreof the steps of the routine 300 may be implemented by other systems,such as the system 200 described in FIGS. 2A and 2B. The routine 300 canbe implemented by any one of, or a combination of, the components of thesystem 100 (e.g., the location circuitry 110, communications circuitry120, etc.). Further details regarding certain aspects of at least someof steps of the routine 300 are described in greater detail above, forexample, with reference to FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B.

At block 301, the system 100 communicates information relating to thelocation of a firearm. As explained above, the system 100 can includelocation circuitry 110. In one embodiment, the location circuitry 110includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) unit, and the GPS unitdetermines the location of the firearm. For example, the GPS unit candetect the location of the firearm by using signals or messages receivedfrom GPS satellites. A GPS satellite may continuously transmit messagesthat include the time the message was transmitted and the satelliteposition at the time of message transmission. The GPS unit can calculatethe position of the firearm based on the information received from theGPS satellites.

The system 100 can also include communications circuitry 120. Thecommunications circuitry 120 can send the location detected by thelocation circuitry 110 and any other information to one or more remoteservers 150. A remote server 150 can include information relating to oneor more locations at which the firearm should be disabled. The one ormore locations at which the firearm should be disabled may be ageographical area in which the firearm cannot be used. In someembodiments, the geographical area is a perimeter around a building. Thegeographical area can have different shapes depending on thecharacteristics of the area. In certain embodiments, the locationcircuitry 110 and the communications circuitry 120 are the same.

At block 302, the system 100 determines whether the firearm should bedisabled based on the location of the firearm. In some embodiments, theremote server 150 may determine whether the firearm is at anunauthorized location or in an unauthorized area. For example, theremote server 150 can determine whether the location of the firearm is alocation at which the firearm should be disabled based at least in parton the information relating to one or more locations at which thefirearm should be disabled. After determining that the firearm is at alocation at which it should be disabled, the remote server 150 cangenerate a command to disable the firearm and send it to the system 100.Then, the system 100 can disable the firearm from operating.

In certain embodiments, the system 100 receives information relating toone or more locations at which the firearm should be disabled from theremote server 150, and determines whether the location of the firearm isa location at which the firearm should be disabled based at least inpart on the information relating to one or more locations at which thefirearm should be disabled.

At block 303, if the system 100 determines that the firearm should bedisabled, the system 100 disables firearm from operating. As explainedabove, various disabling mechanisms can be used to disable the firearm.The communications circuitry 120 or another component in the system 100can initiate the disabling of the firearm. In response to determiningthat the location of the firearm is a location at which the firearmshould be disabled, the system 100 can send a notification that thefirearm is at a location at which the firearm should be disabled, forexample, to the owner of the firearm. Once the firearm is no longer inan unauthorized location or area, the firearm may be enabled to operate.

In some instances, the system 100 may not be able to disable the firearmproperly, for example, if the battery power for the system 100 runs outor connection to the remote server 150 is lost. In such cases, thesystem 100 may automatically disable the firearm in order to prevent thefirearm from being used in an unauthorized area.

The routine 300 can include fewer, more, or different blocks than thoseillustrated in FIG. 3 without departing from the spirit and scope of thedescription. Moreover, it will be appreciated by those skilled in theart and others that some or all of the functions described in thisdisclosure may be embodied in software executed by one or moreprocessors of the disclosed components and/or mobile communicationdevices. The software may be persistently stored in any type ofnon-volatile storage.

FIG. 4 illustrates a diagram of an electronic fence 470 for controllingthe use of a firearm 450, according to certain embodiments. The system400 can be similar to the system 100, 200 of FIGS. 1, 2A, and 2B. Forexample, the system 400 can include location circuitry, communicationscircuitry, etc. Some of the details relating to FIG. 4 are described ingreater detail above, for example, with reference to FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B,and 3.

The location information in the location database 155 of the remoteserver 155 can define an electronic fence 470 in which firearms may notbe used. In the example of FIG. 4, the electronic fence 470 is an areaaround a building 460, such as a school, mall, etc. The electronic fence470 may have a geometric shape (e.g., square, rectangular, circular,oval) or may be arbitrary or irregular, etc. The shape of the electronicfence 470 can depend on the characteristics of an unauthorized area. Forexample, the boundary around a school may not fit into a geometricshape, but may be defined by multiple geographic coordinates.

In the example of FIG. 4, the firearm 450 is initially at location 451 aat which the firearm is allowed to operate. The firearm 450 includes asystem 400 that controls the use of the firearm 450. The electronicfence 470 has a square shape, and is defined as a perimeter around aschool building 460. The use of a firearm 450 is not authorized withinthis area. The system 400 communicates its position to a remote servercontinuously (e.g., at a predetermined interval). Then, the firearmmoves to location 451 b, which is within the electronic fence 470 aroundthe school 460. The system 400 communicates its position at location 451b to the remote server, and remote server detects that the firearm 450is within the electronic fence 470 around the school 460. The remoteserver can determine that the firearm 450 is within the electronic fence470 by referring to the information about unauthorized areas in itsdatabase and checking whether any unauthorized areas include the currentposition of the firearm 450.

Because the firearm 450 is at a location where it should not beoperable, the remote server sends a message or command that the firearm450 should be disabled. The system 400 receives the message or commandfrom the remote server and disables the firearm 450. Once the firearm450 moves outside the electronic fence 470 and is not within anotherunauthorized area, the remote server may send a message or command tothe system 400 to enable the firearm 450. In certain embodiments, theelectronic fence 470 may define an area in which firearms can be used,such as a shooting range, military training facilities, etc. The firearmmay be enabled in these authorized areas and disabled at other times.

In this manner, firearms may be used more safely, and use inunauthorized areas can be prevented. In addition, the informationrelating to unauthorized areas can be updated as appropriate (e.g., inreal-time, periodically, etc.) in response to any changes to currentinformation or to add information relating to any new unauthorizedareas.

CONCLUSION

The concepts disclosed herein are not limited to newly manufacturedfirearms, but also can be applied to existing firearms by retro-fittingexisting firearms with the components described above.

The various illustrative processes described herein may be implementedas electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. Toclearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software,various illustrative components, blocks, modules, and states have beendescribed above generally in terms of their functionality. However,while the various modules are illustrated separately, they may sharesome or all of the same underlying logic or code. Certain of the logicalblocks, modules, and processes described herein may instead beimplemented monolithically.

The various processes described herein may be implemented or performedby a machine, such as a computer, a processor, a digital signalprocessor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device,discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A processor may be a microprocessor, a controller, microcontroller,state machine, combinations of the same, or the like. A processor mayalso be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., acombination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality ofmicroprocessors or processor cores, one or more graphics or streamprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP, orany other such configuration.

The processes described herein may be embodied directly in hardware, ina software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of thetwo. For example, each of the processes described above may also beembodied in, and fully automated by, software modules executed by one ormore machines such as computers or computer processors. A module mayreside in a computer-readable storage medium such as RAM memory, flashmemory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, aremovable disk, a CD-ROM, memory capable of storing firmware, or anyother form of computer-readable storage medium known in the art. Anexemplary computer-readable storage medium can be coupled to a processorsuch that the processor can read information from, and write informationto, the computer-readable storage medium. In the alternative, thecomputer-readable storage medium may be integral to the processor. Theprocessor and the computer-readable storage medium may reside in anASIC.

Depending on the embodiment, certain acts, events, or functions of anyof the processes or algorithms described herein can be performed in adifferent sequence, may be added, merged, or left out all together.Thus, in certain embodiments, not all described acts or events arenecessary for the practice of the processes. Moreover, in certainembodiments, acts or events may be performed concurrently, e.g., throughmulti-threaded processing, interrupt processing, or via multipleprocessors or processor cores, rather than sequentially.

Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,”“might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and from the like, unless specifically statedotherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, isgenerally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, whileother embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/orstates. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended toimply that features, elements and/or states are in any way required forone or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarilyinclude logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting,whether these features, elements and/or states are included or are to beperformed in any particular embodiment.

While the above detailed description has shown, described, and pointedout novel features as applied to various embodiments, it will beunderstood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in theform and details of the logical blocks, modules, and processesillustrated may be made without departing from the spirit of thedisclosure. As will be recognized, certain embodiments of the inventionsdescribed herein may be embodied within a form that does not provide allof the features and benefits set forth herein, as some features may beused or practiced separately from others.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for controlling use of firearms, thesystem comprising: location circuitry configured to determine a locationof a firearm; and communications circuitry configured to: communicateinformation relating to the location of the firearm to a remote server,wherein the remote server comprises information relating to one or morelocations at which the firearm should be disabled; determine whether thelocation of the firearm is a location at which the firearm should bedisabled; and in response to determining that the location of thefirearm is a location at which the firearm should be disabled, disablethe firearm from operating.